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'Paraphilia' is the term used by professionals to indicate that a sexual fetish is severe enough to warrant being called a mental health disorder. Even after the release of the fifth edition of the DSM (DSM-5) paraphilias remain controversial. Although philosophers and scientists alike have argued that some paraphilias are just a way to medicalize sexual behavior that is simply abnormal by society's standards, these arguments typically target paraphilias that do not involve immoral or illegal behaviors. To my knowledge, philosophers have largely ignored the 'criminal paraphilias' (like pedophilia) in their arguments. In this paper, I attempt to fill this gap. I argue that the diagnostic criteria for some paraphilic disorders allows for criminal behavior to serve as a sufficient condition for diagnosis, blurring the line between criminal behavior and psychopathology. I argue that such an equivocation is undesirable in at least three ways: it is contrary to the goals of psychiatry; it allows for the rights of individuals being diagnosed to be routinely violated; and it perpetuates mental illness stigma. These objectionable aspects of including criminal behavior as a diagnostic criterion for criminal paraphilias, coupled with the lack of empirical evidence that shows criminal behavior is a legitimate symptom of paraphilic disorders, provide a strong argument in support of removing the criterion. Once removed, there will effectively be no difference between diagnostic criteria for the noncriminal and criminal paraphilias, and philosophers providing critiques of the former group will be pressed to also address the latter. / Master of Arts / ‘Paraphilia’ is the term used by mental health professionals to indicate that a sexual fetish is severe enough to warrant being called a mental health disorder. Even after the release of the fifth edition of the DSM (DSM-5) paraphilias remain controversial. Although some have argued that a subset of paraphilias are used inappropriately to medicalize sexual behavior that is simply abnormal by society’s standards, these arguments typically target paraphilias that do not involve immoral or illegal behaviors. To my knowledge, philosophers have largely ignored the ‘criminal paraphilias’ (like pedophilia) in their arguments. In this paper, I attempt to fill this gap. I argue that the diagnostic criteria for some paraphilic disorders allows for criminal behavior to serve as a sufficient condition for diagnosis (meaning that criminal behavior is all that is needed to warrant a diagnosis of a criminal paraphilic disorder), blurring the line between criminal behavior and psychopathology. I argue that such an equivocation is undesirable in at least three ways: it is contrary to the goals of psychiatry; it allows for the rights of individuals being diagnosed to be routinely violated; and it perpetuates mental illness stigma (negative beliefs about the mentally ill that cause fear, dislike, and avoidance). These objectionable aspects of including criminal behavior as a diagnostic criterion for criminal paraphilias, coupled with the lack of empirical evidence that shows criminal behavior is a legitimate symptom of paraphilic disorders, provide a strong argument in support of removing the criterion. Once removed, there will effectively be no difference between diagnostic criteria for the noncriminal and criminal paraphilias, and philosophers providing critiques of the former group will be pressed to also address the latter.

No / The use of serious games and gamification to promote learning has a long history. More recently, serious games and gamification have been used in clinical settings to promote treatment and recovery. Yet there is little evidence to support their use with populations that experience serious mental illness. A scoping review was used to answer the following research question, What is the current state of knowledge about how games and gamification are used to promote treatment of serious mental illness? Scoping reviews clarify, define, and develop conceptual boundaries within a topic area. Twenty studies were identified and reviewed by using thematic content analysis. A range of game types, formats, and technology were assessed. Six themes emerged from analysis. Serious games and the use of gamification to promote treatment have potential to engage persons with serious mental illness in game content and promote treatment outcomes. Game design that supported clear instruction, a coherent narrative, a smooth interface between mechanics and play, and service user involvement early in the process of game design were important for the successful promotion of engagement and learning. Games reviewed offered the opportunity for problem solving, collaboration, and goal-oriented activity that supported the delivery of therapeutic outcomes. The use of serious games and gamification to promote treatment of serious mental illness had high levels of feasibility and acceptability among both users and providers. The potential treatment value of games, however, is dependent on key features related to the games’ design, operation, and rationale.

Background: Although it has become more accepted to discuss mental health issues in society negative attitudes persist. This lack of understanding, prejudice, and discriminatory attitudes towards individuals with mental illness result in stereotypes that give rise to stigmatisation. Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to compile previous research to investigate the contexts in which stigmatisation occurs against individuals with mental illness and explore its consequences. Furthermore, it aims to examine measures used to prevent stigmatisation. Method: This paper is a literature review following Arksey & O`Malley`s model for conducting a scoping study. Results: Stigmatisation remains a widespread problem for individuals with mental illness. The most common context where stigmatisation and discrimination occur are out in society by the general public, in workplaces and within healthcare settings. The most severe consequence is self-stigma when individuals internalise the negative attitudes prevalent in society and believe in them. The most successful measure to reducing stigma is contact based interventions. However, there is a lack of evidence on the long-term effectiveness of this method. Conclusion: Stigmatisation against individuals with mental illness continues to be a significant ongoing problem in society despite increased awareness and openness to the subject. The greatest obstacle is the lack of understanding and knowledge about mental illness.

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published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

The effect of psychoeducation on opinions about mental illness, attitudes toward help seeking, and expectations about psychotherapy were investigated. One group served as a control, one group read a written lecture on information about mental illness, and one group read a written lecture on information about psychotherapy. The control group, and experimental groups immediately after reading the lecture, completed demographic information, Attitudes Toward Help Seeking-Short Form, Expectations About Counseling-Brief Form, Nunnally Conceptions of Mental Illness Questionnaire, and three College Adjustment Scales (Depression, Anxiety, Self Esteem). Participants were asked to complete the same measures four weeks after the initial assessment. Results: No significant improvement in attitudes toward help seeking was demonstrated in either experimental group, at either time of testing. Expectations about psychotherapy were significantly improved in both experimental groups, which remained significant at Time 2. Opinions about mental illness demonstrated an immediate significant improvement in attitudes with the mental illness lecture group, however this effect did not remain at Time 2. The psychotherapy lecture group did not have significantly improved opinions about mental illness at either time of testing. The control group did not produce any significant changes between Time 1 and Time 2 testing. Experimental group scores demonstrated similarity with those who had previous experience with psychotherapy. No relationship was found between level of adjustment and attitudes toward help seeking, expectations about psychotherapy, or opinions about mental illness at either time of testing.

This study predicted that individuals diagnosed as having higher levels of stress, based upon DSM-III-R, Axis IV ratings, would also be diagnosed as having more severe forms of mental illness. Conversely, it predicted that individuals with higher premorbid health ratings, according to DSM-III-R, Axis V, would be diagnosed as having less severe forms of mental illness. Highly significant correlations were found between stress ratings and severity of disorder. Significant inverse relationships were also found between Axis V ratings and disorder severity. Additionally, several other demographic variables were significantly correlated with severity of disorder.

"The purpose of this study was to compare attitudes toward mental illness as expressed by the relatives of veterans on Regular Trial Visits from the Veterans Administration Center, Gulfport Division, Biloxi, Mississippi between January 1, 1959 and June 30, 1959. The secondary purpose was a comparison of nine identifying and seven hospital items of 82 veterans, and several characteristics of relatives"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "June, 1961." / "Submitted to the Graduate School of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Work." / Advisor: Irene E. Morris, Professor Directing Study. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-97).